Barnes & Noble.com Launches BNTV

Posted on June 28, 2000

Barnes & Noble.com has introduced Barnes & Noble Television (BNTV), which will be broadcast over the Internet. BNTV launches with short films called bookVideos. Barnes & Noble.com customers will be able to view a different three-minute short film each week, created by film directors such as Kenneth Druckerman, Mark Pellington and Pagan Harleman, on works by authors including Diane Keaton, Da Chen, and J.K. Rowling.

``We are pleased to offer streaming media entertainment to our customers,'' said Steve Riggio, Vice Chairman, Barnes & Noble.com. ``Authors and film personalities alike are all in accord over the importance of being involved in these creative, cutting edge shorts. Now the Barnes & Noble.com shopping experience will be enhanced with original programming that has mass appeal.''

The BNTV bookVideo series begins with the release of The Hungry Ocean, based on the book by Linda Greenlaw and directed by Wilson Van Law. Greenlaw, a female swordfish captain, is one of the heroes of Sebastian Junger's The Perfect Storm, the true story of the storm of the century off the coast of Cape Cod. This fall, BNTV will introduce an author interview series, Behind the Word, which will provide a look into the life and work of today's writers. Behind the Word will provide a new interview with a different author each and every day. The series will be hosted by a variety of journalists and writers.

BNTV was developed and produced by Rain, an independent film, television, and media production company. Softcom, a video application service provider (ASP), implemented BNTV's streaming media application. Softcom deployed its interactive video solution to integrate streaming video with related content and contextual e-commerce.